Tag: history

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Emergence of Americas

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Yale professor, Greg Grandin, a Pulitzer-winning historian comes America, América, the first definitive history of the western hemisphere,  a sweeping five-century narrative of North and South America that redefines our understanding of both continents- perfect for reader of How the World Made the West. The story of the United States’ unique sense of itself was forged facing south – no less than Latin America’s was indelibly stamped by the looming colossus to the north.  Grandin reveals how the Americas emerged from constant, turbulent engagement with each other, shedding new light on well-known historical figures like Bartolomé de las Casas, Simón Bolivar … Continue reading Emergence of Americas

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Curious history, endurance of English as a global phenomenon

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Would you believe it, two thousand years ago English was confined to a handful of savage tribes on the shores of north-west Europe, today, in one form or another, it is spoken by a billion people around the world. More widely scattered, written and spoken than any other language in history, English has become a global phenomenon. Exploring this amazing success, The Story of English is an essential companion for student and general reader alike. The Story of English discusses the influence of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible on the English language as well as how Early Modern … Continue reading Curious history, endurance of English as a global phenomenon

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Our fate flows with that of rivers

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Rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings- who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Is a River Alive? is a a passionate, immersive and revelatory story which will open hearts, spark debates and lead us to the revelation that our fate flows with that of rivers – and always has. Renowned nature writer Robert Macfarlane takes us on several exhilarating journeys across the globe, including the Ecuadorean cloud forest and the head forest of Rio Los Cedros, onto the wounded creeks, lagoons and estuaries of the dying waters around the city of Chennai in … Continue reading Our fate flows with that of rivers

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Roman Woman who broke all rules “a living breathing flesh-and-blood”

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Charismatic Fulvia amassed a degree of military and political power that was unprecedented for a woman in Ancient Rome. Married three times to men who moved in powerful circles, including Marc Anthony, Fulvia was not content to play the usual background role that was expected of wife – instead she challenged the Roman patriarchy and sought to increase her influence in the face of determined opposition. Fulvia is a relative of Julius Caesar, Augustus’s mother-in-law, and a love rival to Cleopatra, She was according to Pultarch, “a woman who took no thought for spinning or housekeeping”, and instead became a … Continue reading Roman Woman who broke all rules “a living breathing flesh-and-blood”

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Correlating rigid thinking to political extremes

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  Political Neuroscientist attached to Cambridge University, Dr Leor Zmigrod discovers the biological factor that drive ideologies to extremes and her research into the physical and psychological origins of extremism. Her definition of ideology is a rigid and dogmatic way of thinking that discourages thought in favour of a pre-determined and hermetically sealed belief system. Her findings “Prejudiced children’s rigidities were not constrained to one domain: they were everywhere. Rightly spilled into every response, every reasoned thought and miscalculation.” Zmigrod reveals the hidden mechanisms driving our beliefs and behaviours. She using powerful tools of neuroscience to show that our political … Continue reading Correlating rigid thinking to political extremes

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Fight, Thrill and Dazzle

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The ancient Roman Empire was the supreme arena, where emperors had no choice but to fight, to thrill, to dazzle. To rule as a Caesar was to stand as an actor upon the great stage of the world. Suetonius’ renowned biography of the twelve Caesars, invite us into the lives of the first Roman Emperor, Caesars more vividly or intimately than those by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, written from the centre of Rome and power, in the early 2nd century AD. Suetonius succeeded in painting Rome’s ultimate portraits of power. The shortfalls, foreign policy crises and sex scandals of the emperors are … Continue reading Fight, Thrill and Dazzle

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Ireland was a laboratory for empire: While million starved grain was hoarded 

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In the 1800s, as Britain became the world’s most powerful industrial empire, Ireland starved. In 1847, Richard Webb, the rector of Caheragh, County Cork, sent a group of men to check on his parishioners. On arriving at a cluster of cottages, they were turned back by farmers who told them, “those houses are cursed”. Webb persisted sending another emissary who discovered the corpses of the Barry family there, half-eaten by dogs. The cleric wrote: “I need make no comment on this but ask, are we living in a portion of the United Kingdom?”. The Great Irish famine fractured long held … Continue reading Ireland was a laboratory for empire: While million starved grain was hoarded 

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inadequate visions of gender equality

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Inequality in the workplace impacts all areas of our lives, from health and self-development to economic security and family life. But, despite the world’s richest countries’ long-avowed commitments to gender equality, there is so much to fix – and so much we don’t see. The most lucrative industries are male-dominated- yet half of men think they’re the ones being discriminated against. Women work more hours than men and accumulate less wealth- while many children want more time with their dad. Patriarchy Inc, reveals how the status quo is harming us all, in our working lives and beyond. Drawing on social … Continue reading inadequate visions of gender equality

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People’s right to think, teach and speak are routinely violated

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In Western world, free speech is held up as core value, but there is widespread discord and disagreement about what freedom of expression means. In China, India and across the Islamic world, unorthodox views about politics, sex, and religion are repressed and people are often punished for expressing them. Amidst perennial imbalances of power, continually evolving cultural taboos, dramatic new technologies and a fast-changing global media landscape, where free speech comes from- and how we might think about it- are critical questions. Through lens of history, freedom of speech is not an absolute from which societies and regimes have drifted … Continue reading People’s right to think, teach and speak are routinely violated

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Ultimate vigilante story

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The Feather men is the riveting story of a secret organization whose efforts by a private British vigilance committee, founded in England in the late 1960s.  Their 14-year attempt to eliminate a band of coldblooded contract killers of a number of British ex-servicemen in Britain and abroad. From 1977 to 1990, three hired assassins known as the Clinic tracked down and murdered four former British soldiers, one at a time. Each of the assassinations was carried out in such an ingenious fashion that there would be no hint of foul play, but one clue these killings has in common was that … Continue reading Ultimate vigilante story